A Victorian Authority: The Daily Press in Late Nineteenth-Century Canada (Heritage) - Softcover

Rutherford, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802064590 ISBN 13: 9780802064592

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 1982

Synopsis

During the last third of the nineteenth century a fierce rivalry among party 'organs,' sectarian dailies, upstart 'people's journals,' and revamped 'quality' papers fashioned a popular journalism for a large, chiefly urban audience in Canada. By the end of the 1890s, the number of daily and weekly editions of these newspapers exceeded the count of Canadian families. The country's first mass medium has arrived.

Professor Rutherford charts the growth of the daily press, describing personalities and events. He surveys the cultural prerequisites for mass communication -- the growth of the city, of urban publics, and of mass literacy -- and looks at the personnel, business routines, and worries of the new industry, showing how the news and views, ads and entertainment of the press changed as publishers competed for increased circulation. He also analyses the mythologies purveyed by the popular press across Canada, defines the press's connection with the 'establishment,' and shows how daily papers suited the libertarian model of a 'free press.'

This volume is a novel addition to our literature on nation building, revealing the significant role played by the popular press in the making of Victorian society and the shaping of the twentieth century.

About this title

About the Author

Paul Rutherford is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. He is the author of several books published by UTP, including When Television Was Young (1990), The New Icons? (1994), Endless Propaganda (2000), Weapons of Mass Persuasion (2004), and World Made Sexy (2007).

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 1982
• ISBN 10: 0802064590
• ISBN 13: 9780802064592
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 306